# Tesla revives Roadster plans using decades-old cold gas thruster tech

Tesla is turning to cold gas thruster technology — used in spacecraft and stunt work for roughly 50 years — as it makes another attempt at its long-delayed Roadster sports car. The approach would use compressed gas jets in place of or alongside conventional thrust to boost acceleration and handling, a concept more familiar from spaceflight than from production vehicles. It matters because Tesla has repeatedly promised the Roadster without shipping it, and leaning on proven but niche technology signals both the scale of its performance claims and the difficulty of meeting them.

**Importance:** 3/5

## Sources

### Technology
- [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/10/tesla-turns-to-50-year-old-stunt-technology-as-it-tries-to-roadster-again/) — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 14:03:25 +0000

### Business
- [BBC Business](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c370pzdkw77jo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 23:13:24 GMT